was able to observe that with the first wave of Corona in March and the border closures, the number of online advertisements fell rapidly. With the opening of the borders in May and June, the number of advertisements and the number of vans apprehended rose again. These figures underline that the illegal puppy trade is mainly carried out via online platforms such as ebay classifieds and Quoka. The number of unreported animals illegally smuggled is likely to be much higher. According to an EU study, around 50,000 animals are traded within the member states every month.
In the illegal puppy trade, the animals are produced under cruel conditions so that the puppy business is as lucrative as possible. The puppies are born in filthy shacks and basements, get no vaccinations or affection. When the animals are separated from their mothers far too young, many are sick and far too weak to survive the journey across Europe. Germany is a big customer country. The animals are then offered and sold anonymously via online portals. The unsuspecting buyers are deceived and often pay several hundred euros for a puppy. Many animals die after just a few days or suffer for the rest of their lives from the dramatic conditions they had to endure in their first weeks of life.
has developed a model solution that could be used to make online animal trading safer. Find out more here.
You can find the comparative analysis of the illegal puppy trade on online platforms in times of Corona here to download.
You can get more information about the illegal puppy trade here.
More than 97,000 people are calling on the federal government to stop the illegal puppy trade. Sign the petition here.